Thea's Identity

Lee Berman · 22 Apr 2013, 13:18 · from 2013-April.txt.gz

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From: severiansola at hotmail.com (Lee Berman)
Date: Mon, 22 Apr 2013 09:18:42 -0400
Subject: (urth) Thea's Identity
Message-ID: <BLU175-W35369DE5D27BF4E8A55D72CFCB0 at phx.gbl>

>Jeff Wilson: Meh. The servants seem to have no trouble maintaining loyalty to 
>the new Autachs, and it would make the Torturers, Witches, Librarians, and
>Stewards curious exceptions to the auto-cloning rule, as we know they get
>at least some of their number from outside the House and Citadel. It would
>bring into question why the autarch always has a great man soldiers but
>never enough, and it would fubar the basis for your identity intrigue on
>the raft.

Well, it was actualy David and Thomas who were mulling over the possibility of
autarch cloning and literal "self-rule", not me.

I get the impression that the commonality and autochthons types are  not the usual 
clients of the torturers and witches. Though a lot of fuss is made over such a highly 
placed client as Thecla but all the torturer boys fantasize about which noble family they
may have been taken from. I would lean toward the convention that cloning is restricted to 
exultants, armigers and servants of the throne for some combination of vanity and utility. 
It might be for a source of blood for beauty like khaibits, the duplication of an effective 
soldier or servant like Odilo, or the creation of a close companion as Pega was for Pelagia.

>Surely there being a power behind the throne is not unusual in literature?

I guess not, but my interest is in the frequency of the evil nature of such a power
and whether Father Inire was intended to fall into that classification. (not that
"evil" is going to be a straightforward concept in a Wolfe story)

>When does Gurloes talk to the voices?

>From Lexicon Urthus, Gurloes: 
> is the only one in the guild who is not afraid of the voices at the top of the
>tower. (1, Chapt. 7, 78)

>Don't forget the doglike watchers, including aquastor-Triskele and the
>cynocephalic babboon.

Hm, I'd never thought to connect Trikele with the cynocephalus. That's interesting.
Yellow baboons have the name P. cynocephalus and I thought the monkey aspect was
the most important. But Father Inire has some dog-men soldiers so perhaps both 
animals should be considered important associations with him.

>I think your compulsive bisociation has been fruitful here, Lee.

Heh, not compulsive enough to have connected the cynocephalus to Triskele. ;- ).
But in seriousness, I'm obviously not adverse to the spaghetti method of discussion
here; i.e. throwing things on the wall for discussion and seeing what sticks. But 
seeing the angel shown to Severian on his request for the garden as cherubim does seem to
have a little extra sticking power.

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